Month: September 2016

Although student segregation by race and ethnicity is well documented in U.S. public schools, the body of evidence on the related outcome of economic school segregation (e.g., by income) is considerably smaller (Reardon and Owens 2014).

In general, economic segregation of students is increasing nationally over the past few decades, both between districts and between schools (Owens et al. 2014). It is inevitable that these aggregate trends vary widely by state, metropolitan area, and district. We were curious as to the situation in New York City, the nation’s largest district, but were…

Part 1 described how Wells Fargo bank and the Atlanta public schools defrauded large numbers of customers and students. At the bank, over 5,000 employees were fired. The bank’s CEO admitted responsibility for the fraud before a U.S. Senate Banking Committee yet the fine levied by federal regulators ($185 million) wasn’t even a slap on the wrist, given the $80-plus billion in revenues that the bank took in last year. Nor did the bank admit in that agreement to pay the fine any responsibility for for their actions. The CEO is still CEO.

Recently New York’s education department announced its intent to make changes to the state’s “common core” learning standards. I get that the standards need to be more user friendly and that responding to what teachers say about them is a good idea on many fronts. But as Robert Pondiscio wrote in today’s Daily News, one proposed change is, in my mind, a huge mistake: The state’s proposal to de-emphasize complex text. As Robert writes:
If New York’s new standards don’t explicitly specify complex text, there’s no guarantee kids will be taught or tested with the kinds of challenging…

“The teacher shortage crisis is here,” declares U.S. News, citing a new Learning Policy Institute report on the “coming” crisis.

“We are experiencing what appears to be the first major shortage since the 1990s,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford professor who runs the institute.

“At a time when public school enrollment is on the upswing, large numbers of teachers are headed for retirement or leaving the profession because of dissatisfaction with working conditions,” reports U.S. News. “Meanwhile, enrollment in teacher preparation programs is dropping dramatically, falling 35…

Part 1 described how Wells Fargo bank and the Atlanta public schools defrauded large numbers of customers and students. At the bank, over 5,000 employees were fired. The bank’s CEO admitted responsibility for the fraud before a U.S. Senate Banking Committee yet the fine levied by federal regulators ($185 million) wasn’t even a slap on the wrist, given the $80-plus billion in revenues that the bank took in last year. Nor did the bank admit in that agreement to pay the fine any responsibility for for their actions. The CEO is still CEO.

I have been explaining to my students that pulling an all-nighter for a test is a horrible idea. This press release based on the findings by David Earnest, a Texas A&M College of Medicine sleep expert, confirms it: procrastination and sleep deprivation do much more harm than good.

From the press release:

A sleep deprived brain is dysfunctional

We will all probably encounter sleep deprivation at some point in our lives, whether willingly or unwillingly. Still, if you think staying awake all night is beneficial to your study habits, think again.